United States History Student Edition

Understanding the Time and Place: The World and North America, 1200s–1607 Several European powers came to the Americas searching for riches and power. While the Europeans had varying degrees of success in their quests for gold, they began to recognize the potential of the lands they were seeing. Eliminating or displacing the original Native American inhabitants, the Spanish, French, and Dutch began to colonize the Americas. The English were relative latecomers to the colonization of the Americas.

A French mapmaker created this map of New Mexico and Florida in 1656. It presented an early view of European claims in North America.

The Quest for Trade and Wealth Increased contact with Asia in the 1200s brought not only goods but also new ideas to Europe. This gave rise to the period of intellectual and artistic creativity known as the Renaissance. At the same time, a new and larger type of European state was developing. Ambitious kings consolidated power in Spain, Portugal, England, and France and competed for land and wealth. Since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E., it had been difficult to bring trade caravans across eastern Europe. The trade routes that grew between Asia and Europe went through the

eastern Mediterranean, which was controlled by powerful Italian city-states. The monarchs of Portugal and Spain were not satisfied with this situation; they also had ambitions for trade and wealth. Such ambitions led to an era of exploration as Spain and Portugal sought a sea route to Asia for trade. An Age of Exploration To support naval exploration, Portugal’s Prince Henry, known as Henry the Navigator, established a school of navigation. The Portuguese began developing better navigation tools, maps, and ships. They explored the Atlantic coast of Africa,

Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library

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